Do you have a word of the year? Around New Year’s, when everyone was posting about their top 9 photos from 2018 and resolutions/goals for 2019, I was also seeing posts about finding your ‘word of the year’. One friend even linked DaySpring’s quiz so that you could discover your own word for 2019.

Like any curious person, of course I took the quiz myself and discovered my word for 2019 is ‘Peace’. In the moment I thought that was an odd word, and being unhappy about my result, I attempted to take the quiz again. I even changed up some of my answers {just call me sneaky}. And guess what?I got the SAME result. hmmm.Now feeling like this was providence and not just randomness, I decided to embrace the word and try to understand why peace would be my word for 2019.

Fast forward to yesterday morning, after having dropped off my oldest child at school, I was driving away listening to a local Christian radio station. The morning show team was discussing their word of the year and as I thought on the conversation, I went back to my word: Peace.

Why had that word been chosen for me? I certainly believe it was chosen for me. I obviously didn’t pick it – I wanted to change it. I probably would have picked some other fun word like joy or gratitude, but this word – Peace – was for me.

Peace.

Some of the definitions of this mysterious word, according to Merriam-Webster are:*a state of tranquility or quiet*freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions*harmony in personal relations*in a state of concord or tranquility

Not that I have come to some sort of extensive realization about my life + peace, but there are some things that have gained clarity for me in this second month of this new year…

I have been lacking peace. Genuine peace.There’s been a lot of turmoil in my personal life…relationships that have been frazzled and torn, especially over the past year.My spirit has been downcast and and troubled for some time, and I think I’ve tried to suppress it with filling my time with stuff/keeping busy.Also, a lot of changes swept into my world last year, in a very short period of time, causing much restlessness and sadness.

So, yes, there is a great need for peace in my life. Peace that passes ALL understanding, and the lack thereof as well.In looking at the definitions of peace, my life has been the complete opposite of those words so I can more clearly now see WHY peace may have been chosen for me.

Yesterday morning after I got back home and was pondering peace, I looked the word up on Biblegateway.com…what were some verses that could point me closer to finding peace?There are a lot. ha. The Lord does not lack talking about or showing peace, throughout the scriptures. One verse in Romans in particular stands out to me: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13.

Dear friend, if you are like me, and lacking in peace today, may you cling to this verse as I am. Let us be filled with hope, joy and peace as we trust in Him, the author and perfecter of our faith (Heb. 12:2). Until next time…

Happy Monday, Friends! Today is, among a few things: National Drink Wine Day, President’s Day AND my big brother’s 40th birthday! Which is so incredibly hard to believe… 40 years… I remember when my parents turned 40, and to be in that camp so many years later seems so surreal. But alas, we are here and I’m hoping my brother has been celebrated today by those closest to him!

Now, I wanted to share with you today about my most recent 8 pages book. Last fall, Andrew and I had the privilege of going to a conference where one of the speakers strongly encouraged the audience to be reading every single day. At least 8 pages.

Confession, I am NOT a reader. I don’t enjoy sitting still, which you generally have to do to read. I like to be active, to be moving, so this challenge really was like a dare to me. Could I do it? Sure. Would I do it? er. maybe.

Andrew and I accepted the challenge when we got back home from that little conference and we’ve been reading 8 pages almost every night since then. I will admit that some nights we get to bed too late or are just plain exhausted, and we skip, but we try our best to make this a priority at night. We’re going for good/great, not perfection.

I have been choosing books that push me both spiritually and personally and my most recent book was Your Money, Your Marriage. I honestly cannot even recall how I found this book, or why exactly I wanted to read it, but nonetheless it proved to be a great book. Encouraging couples to not only commit to loyalty within their marriages, but also within the context of their finances.I’m going to detour for just a sec, so bear with me. If I were to take a poll today of my readers, how many of you have made a purchase in the last 48 hours that your spouse doesn’t know about?

Guilty.

One section of the book, that I actually highlighted reads like this,

When you buy whatever you want to buy, whenever you want to buy it, and your spouse does the same thing, you end up spending more than you make. When you detest the idea of a budget because it controls what you can and can’t do, you miss the mark for a secure financial future every single time. The illusion of being in control leads to the exact opposite when it comes to your money and your marriage. You wind up with your finances and relationship careening out of control.

I don’t know if y’all remember a few years ago I wrote a post about the word budget being a bad word. I’ve never liked a budget. I’ve never wanted to be constrained by it. But the night I read this paragraph above, I was slapped in the face. And quite honestly, I felt overly convicted, remorseful and embarrassed. I flagged it in the book so that I could come back and read it again {and again, and again…} after the book was finished.

I think my purpose in sharing this excerpt and book with you is that it reminded me that when Andrew and I became a union, we became one. Our hearts joined, our homes joined, our finances joined…and while we do all the things of married couples that show we are ONE, our finances haven’t been that way. So if this is a challenge to you as it was to me, make some small changes. Realize that the things you do in secret don’t help your marriage or your finances.

Back to the 8 pages…I’m sure many of you read so much more than I do, and that is super. I applaud you! If you don’t even read the mere 8 pages that I’ve started reading, I would like to extend the challenge to you. Put down the phone or the remote a little earlier than ‘normal’. Get into your cozy bed, or couch or chair and find yourself a really good book. Whether you like fiction, historical, self-help or even just your Bible. Reading has so many benefits, that I’ve even experienced in the few short months that I’ve been doing my 8 pages: stress reduction, more/better sleep, better memory, cheap entertainment {library books are FREEEE!}.

I’m not quite sure what my next good read will be, but if the anticipation is killing you, and you’d like to follow along in my next 8 pages, follow me on Instagram – I will often post an excerpt from my nights’ reading in my stories! Until next time…

It’s been a year since I last wrote a post on this sweet blog of mine. I never dreamed, when I started Camellias & Copper, that I would go a year without putting thoughts down and sharing them with you all. I actually had a number of drafts saved from last Spring that never were finished…and truthfully, were completely forgotten.I remember there were times that I would think to myself, ‘I REALLY need to sit down and write a post’, or ‘gosh, it’s been a really long time since I wrote down my thoughts…’ And then the moments, and days, and weeks simply passed me by.

So here we are, another turn on the calendar and I’m yearning to get back to this blog that I loved so dearly for so long. An opportunity to sit, quietly, for a few minutes each day and ponder a question, a thought, an instance, and be able to share it with you, my readers and friends.

Here goes.

There is so much that has happened in a year. As you may be able to relate, some good, some bad, some ugly things…but forever for my good and a deeper love and reliance upon the Lord. I am another year older than I was the last time I wrote a post. Maybe a little wiser, maybe a little more kinder…hopefully a little more loving and compassionate. My kids are also older, Reynolds is half-way through his kindergarten year, which is completely insane to me. Emory talks our heads off {often demanding whatever it is that someone else has}. And Eliza Jane is as giggly as ever.Another change that has occurred is that I am now working with Andrew in our real estate ventures, which has been both a learning and growth adjustment as I know very little about this world I’ve just entered. But he is patient and smart and is teaching me everything I need to know to help our business be successful.A friend asked today what positive has come out of me leaving my previous job and joining forces with Andrew, and with a twinkle in my eye I said, ‘getting to have lunch with him several days a week.’ Eight years ago when he came back to Columbia for work {right before we were married}, we were giddy with the anticipation of being able to have lunch together. Over the course of those eight years, we had lunch together maybe 10 times. Now I can have lunch with Andrew anytime I want. And I feel a little like Melanie Carmichael in Sweet Home Alabama when asked why she wants to marry Jake, replies “So I can kiss {him} anytime I want.”

I’m so thankful for the opportunity we’ve been given to do this fun work together. Another huge positive is that we now have the time to take dance lessons! Y’all. I’ve been wanting to take dance lessons for years now, and after looking last fall, there was really only one place that was local to us, but most of the available time for private lessons was a night. And with three kids and lots of other activities already in place…who has time to add anything else?! Not us. So I kicked that can down the street.Andrew to the rescue. For my birthday he got me dance lessons with Jim at Blue Moon Ballroom. We went on Tuesday for our first lesson where we learned the box step and rumba, with corner breaks. It was so much fun. We laughed, we danced, we didn’t step on each other’s toes! It was terrific. We had our second lesson yesterday and added to the rumba, the promenade, which was a little saucy! And then we started learning the fox trot, which was much easier than I’d expected {I didn’t really have an expectation so…}. So I would suggest to any of my couple-friends in the Columbia area, who may be looking for something fun to do together, go take you a dance lesson from Mr. Jim.

There’s so much more I want to tell you about all of the new things, but I’ve got to scoot out and go get Reynolds from school and run some errands so I’ll leave you with a sweet excerpt from a book I was given for my birthday. “If God wrote your Birthday Card” – a sweet Hallmark book, written from the perspective of God…on your birthday ::I want you to shine brightly because, dear child, you make me smile.

You, friends, make me smile. Thanks for being here…for reading and for caring. Until next time…

Hey y’all! I survived my first week without refined/added sugars!!!!!!! Yipeeeeee..Praise the Lord!

As a quick reminder, I’m doing the 40-Day Sugar Fast, which started last Monday. Over the last week I didn’t have any sweets, no chocolate, no wine, save Friday night when I did cheat because we had dinner at a friend’s house – and had a glass of wine. I didn’t have Starbucks at all, which mentally was hard, but really wasn’t so difficult in the end {previously it was like every day….seriously}.

I didn’t have any mid-day crashes, I didn’t feel lousy, I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything. Overall, I felt like my first week without sugar was really good.

Now that I’m thinking thru it all again, I’ve had a couple of slight headaches, but then we were in the upper 60’s Friday and 30-something yesterday…the weather-swings tend to give me headaches so I don’t know for sure that those were sugar-related.

I have lost 3 pounds…not that I am trying to lose any weight. But knowing that sugar is a huge part of my normal diet, I was curious to see how no sugar would affect my weight so I weighed myself a week ago to see what it would be over time.

I know you probably read that and chuckled to yourself thinking, “Good luck sister!”

I’m either crazy or determined. And thankfully I’m pretty strong-willed and bullheaded…. So I think I can do this!

I also think I’ve shared with you all before my obsession with sugar {You can read this here post}. And a couple of months ago I made the decision to stop my Starbucks drink {cold turkey!}.

I needed caffeine in the morning so I consulted a co-worker friend who told me about black tea. It’s amazing. I’ve been drinking hot black tea without any sort of sweetener {Tazo’s Berry Trifle and Organic Peach Cobbler are faves!}. Getting rid of my Starbucks Vanilla Latte was a major accomplishment for me.

But then I often find myself throughout the day snacking on sweets and carbs. I grew up in a home with cookies and cakes and all kinds of sweets to it’s just always been part of my life. After every meal I want something sweet. Anyone else?

So when my friend Dana tagged me in a Facebook post about this 40 Day Sugar Fast I thought, “I want to do that…but first let me learn more.”

This is a sugar fast that you can make out of it whatever you want. The basis is to get rid of all added and refined sugars like the donuts, the sweet drinks, the M&M’s or the Snicker bars or the cookies in your pantry, whatever little bit of sweetness you have in your drawer at work or a secret stash at home {you know you have one…the one that no one else knows about…???}. Get rid of those things AND, this is the biggest thing: refocus upon the Lord and go to Him in those moments of desire or craving {desperation? deserving?}. It’s a true fast in the sense of fasting so that we’re focused/desperate for the Lord.

No doubt, by the end of tomorrow I’ll be desperate so we’ll see how this goes.

I’m excited for the scriptures. I’m excited for the desperation. I’m excited for the joy. AND I’m excited for the freedom that this will bring.

This is a FREE group to join…so if you’re ready to put sugar aside and turn your eyes upon Jesus…sign up here!

And as a side, I have nothing to do with this group…only that I’ll be seeking guidance and encouragement, and hopefully BE an encouragement to a few folks!

Y’all know we spent our fabulous New Year’s celebration hanging out at home, just our wonderful little family, since Eliza Jane had the flu. Her fever finally went away yesterday around lunch time/early afternoon. But since she has to be fever-free for 24 hours before she can go back to school, today was a play day at home for her. Andrew took the morning shift and I got home at lunch time.

After a quick walk/run on the treadmill for me, and a little movie time of Lilo and Stitch for her, we were off to run some errands and get her some fresh {cold!!} air.

She’s my best little girl, so I took the afternoon off, instead of working from home. I wanted to treat her to some fun since she’d been quarantined for a couple of days.

First we went to Target and searched for some storage bins because it seems that my seasonal decor has gotten out of hand…

She didn’t really care for Target..she kept asking for a cookie from Publix… One would think we go there often with as many requests as I get from her and the other big one.

After Target we went to Hobby Lobby because I am wanting one of those super cute pom pom wreaths in all the fun colors for Spring/Summer! AND a friend said her mom could make it for me – SCORE! So we went and picked up all the supplies for my little wreath.

THEN…then we went to Publix and sister got herself a cookie with sprinkles. We also got some items for our supper tonight in case you were wondering if the trip was just for a cookie {I may or may not have ever done that – no comment…and I plead the 5th}.

She’s the cutest thing I know.

Meanwhile, I think my kids could live off of cookies…

Which brings me to a recent question I came across:: What’s your favorite dessert now vs when you were a kid?
As a kid, my favorite was a German Chocolate Cake my Nama made (one day I’ll try to make it myself). These days I love a really good Tiramisu.

That’s it! We came back home, I fixed supper {early because I had a meeting at daycare tonight} and she had an evening with the boys. Daddy said it was wild. haha.
Goodnight friend!

I’m so thankful for all the things I got to do, see, experience, etc. in 2017, and am excited for what 2018 holds!

I read a quote yesterday in the Real Simple magazine I mentioned in my post last night…the quote reads:

“There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.” -C.S. Lewis

Hopefully, like me, you’ve had enough life experiences to know the depths of this truth.

I saw a few folks on social media saying ‘good riddance’ to 2017…but I truly hope you don’t feel that way. All the things in our life: good, nasty, hard, horrible, {mean people}, terrifying, scary…and the wonderful things {and people}…all rolled up together in one really weird rubber-band ball, make us who we are. For those of you who know me…this is a good analogy and reminder of Romans 8:28.

Photo: Container Store

I’m certainly not the same person I was 20, 10 or even one year ago. I continue to learn and make adjustments to be a better person, friend, mom, wife, etc.
No, I’m not saying good riddance…I’m saying thank you.
Thank you for the things {and maybe people} who pushed me to be better than I was – and maybe that wasn’t even their intention… Maybe those were little blessings in really weird disguises?
Thank you for the friendships that were started, strengthened and perhaps challenged in a new way.
Thank you for new adventures and the opportunity to be Brave.
Thank you for being able to view things through the eyes of my precious children.
If there is one thing you could be thankful to 2017 for…what would it be?

Even so…as the quote says…there are better things ahead.

What is one thing you are looking forward to in this new…amazing year ahead? You’ve got 364 days to make the most of it!

I thought it totally fitting when we got home from the doctor’s office this morning and I opened up my January 2018 issue of ‘Real Simple’ to see the article titled, Your Sick Day Survival Guide.

Somehow it knew.

Bless it all y’all. I picked the kids up Friday from daycare and she had a fever. 102ish. Saturday she got down to 99 most of the day…but by night she was back up to around 103. Andrew called the doctor, who told us to bring her in this morning.

I was the second person to walk in… Sometimes I feel like we’ve become regulars since 2013. They know us all by name…

There was another little fella waiting with his daddy that had the same symptoms Eliza Jane did. I hope the outcome for him was different.

We went through the routine of weight check {where she stomped her feet, and screamed “No! No! No!”}. This girl…she has no clue of what weight checks will be in her future, all 35 current pounds of her.

We got into the room and they took her temp that I think he said 98.1, which was totally not right because when I got her back home, she was 101.9…

Anyway, sweet Doc checked her ears, which didn’t go well for the pint-sized spit-fire. She screamed and flopped like a fish out of water. After removing a small ball of wax from each ear, Doc confirmed a slight infection in the right ear. Then said, “I think we should do a flu test, just to be able to rule that out.”

Sadly, we didn’t rule it out. It ruled us.

Once again, she thrashed her head {why does she do this?!}. But the sweet girl in the lab got what she needed to be able to tell us that Eliza Jane has the flu, type A.

Back in the Doctor’s office, he tells me all the things he is going to prescribe, for both flu and the ear infection…and that sweet Eliza Jane needs to “be quarantined as much as possible”.

That.will.never.happen.

Then, when I told him about the other two kids in the house {why the quarantine will never happen}, he said if anyone got a fever to call them and then everyone would get Tamiflu. My fingers are crossed on this, but I’m also not a Pollyanna.

Meanwhile, to today/tonight being New Year’s Eve. The kids asked all day for us to have a party. In thinking we wouldn’t be able to do something so great for and with them, I tried to think of something fun we could do tonight to celebrate New Year’s.

While at Publix this afternoon I grabbed a few minor fireworks and a bottle of Sparkling Grape Juice. I was hoping to make them feel special, that we could have a party, even if a bunch of people weren’t at our home. I mean Andrew and I may not be the most fun people on the planet…but we know how to throw a great party.

After supper, and Emory went to bed {he was rather cranky this evening}, we bundled up and went outside to light up our fireworks.

Now? All the kids are in bed asleep. Daddy and I are working on our laptops, watching Rockin’ New Year’s Eve…and yes, we’ll be asleep when that beautiful crystal ball drops!

Happy 2018 Friends! I hope your new year is everything you hope it to be!

If you google it, you’ll see the one from Anthropologie that is just simply put…gorgeous {and also humongous}.

Or the fun little half circle one from PBTeen.

We bought our king-size mattress set two years ago. So for two years we’ve had just that basic metal frame with no bells or whistles for a head- or footboard. I remember being so excited about the massive set {wish y’all could have seen Andrew and me pushing that mattress up our staircase…} and spending all the ‘extra’ money we had on Pottery Barn bedding and a fabulous little accent pillow from Anthropologie.

We’d put the actual bed on the back-burner, knowing it would take time and a chunk of change to get what we really wanted, which we thought was a four poster rice bed.

We actually have one that is a queen, but as all these babies kept popping up in our home, we decided that we would need a king for us all to fit in on a scary, stormy night. Which, has yet to actually happen…and I fear that when it does, we still won’t all fit. {Eliza Jane’s legs grow by about 3 feet when she’s sleeping…}

So back to the headboard…I don’t really know what happened, but I ended up googling Bohemian Headboard on Black Friday…and lo and behold, the next thing I knew I was buying one from Home Depot. First of all, who knew that HD now sells furniture? Not this gal. I’m a Lowe’s girl most days of the week so I was thrown off by this discovery.

I showed Andrew the headboard and he loved it as much as I did. And y’all, the price was a steal at 50% off! Before I really knew what was happening I was clicking the “place order” button on the screen with a massive smile on my face.

We had it delivered to the store and when it came we decided that we were too busy to go pick it up so Andrew so non-nonchalantly stated, “I’ll go get it one day”. And he did. One random afternoon a week or so ago, I pulled into the garage to see a massive box sticking out of the bed of his truck. I walked in, and with all my smarts said, “You picked up the headboard today, huh?”

The kids were just as excited as we were to pull that box down and rip all the cardboard and Styrofoam away. It is more beautiful in person than in was in the pictures. And heavy. It’s a wee bit heavy. But gosh it’s pretty.

It leaned against the wall in our bedroom for a few days before I had a vision of Emory walking in front of it and it crashing down on top of his head, flattening him to the ground, that I announced we were putting it up!

{Could we pause and laugh about the things that go thru the mom-heads? I mean…we’re crazy.}

That was Sunday, and in about an hours time, we had the bed moved to where it would remain {until I get that itch to move things around again}, holes drilled into the base of the headboard….yes, it came pre-drilled, but the holes didn’t match our frame so Andrew had to drill new ones. {I’m so thankful he’s handy} And it was all set up with fresh sheets and I just wanted to stare at it in complete thankful- and happiness.

I kept saying, “It’s so pretty. Isn’t it so pretty?!” that Andrew just laughed at me.

But isn’t it so pretty? I hate that you can’t really see all the beautiful detail with the 11 {ELEVEN} pillows on our bed…but it is really pretty.

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